Abstract

The hole-board test has been used to assess working and reference memory in a variety of species, but not in cattle. We developed and applied a modified hole-board test for dairy calves. Fifteen bottles were evenly spaced along three walls of a test arena; 11 of these were empty and 4 were 'baited' with milk. Calves were exposed daily (over an 11-day learning period) to the test arena with the location of the baited bottles held constant; the location of the 4 baited bottles was then changed and calves were re-trained on these new locations (over a 7-day re-learning period). Working memory (no. of revisits to the baited set), general working memory (no. of revisits to the whole set), and reference memory (avoidance of non-baited bottles) were assessed daily. Performance significantly improved during the learning period for reference and general working memory. Working memory tended to improve, albeit non-significantly. The change in bottle location initially reduced all performance measures, but these subsequently improved during the 7-day re-learning period. These results indicate that a modified hole-board test can be used to assess calf cognition, and thus may be helpful in future research designed to investigate the effects of housing and rearing conditions on cognition.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.